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Poland’s Swiatek reflects on her Roland Garros title defence, says she has learned a lot about herself
NEW DELHI: After mounting a successful title defence, Iga Swiatek admitted that she is on a journey to discover the extent of her remarkable abilities.
Following a hard-fought victory over Karolina Muchova in a captivating 6-2, 5-7, 6-4 battle on Court Philippe-Chatrier in Paris, the Polish tennis star expressed her satisfaction with another memorable and triumphant clay-court season.
Swiatek, who became the youngest woman since Monica Seles in 1992 to win consecutive titles at Roland-Garros, now joins the ranks of Venus Williams and Naomi Osaka as one of the three active players with four or more Grand Slam titles.
When asked about her emotions upon securing her fourth Grand Slam victory, 22-year-old Swiatek confessed, “I don’t know what I felt. It’s hard to describe. But a lot of happiness. I suddenly felt tired after these three weeks. Maybe my matches weren’t physically exhausting, but it’s quite challenging to maintain focus for almost three weeks.”
She continued, “And also the entire clay court swing. Since Stuttgart, I haven’t been home. So, I’m glad that I finished the whole clay court swing so well, and that I managed to endure. I suppose I will never doubt my strength again because of this experience.”
When questioned about her future goals in her already illustrious career, Swiatek chose not to provide a definite answer. Instead, she emphasised her commitment to continuous self-improvement.
“I’m not really looking that far ahead,” she humbly admitted. “I’m just happy with what has happened over the past few weeks. I don’t know what I’m capable of.”
While many believe that the era of Iga Swiatek has officially begun in Paris, where she boasts a remarkable 28-2 lifetime record and has secured titles in three of her five appearances on the Parisian clay, Swiatek remains focused on her game rather than the numbers.
“I will work day by day to play the best game possible and to develop as a player,” she asserted. “I’m not setting any crazy records or goals for myself. I know that keeping it cool is the best approach for me. I’m trying to maintain that mindset.”
In the intense final against Muchova, Swiatek found herself in the unfamiliar position of having to play a deciding set in a Grand Slam final for the first time in her career. Despite the disappointment of losing the second set after leading, Swiatek managed to regain her composure and trust her instincts.
“Honestly, this match was so long, with so many ups and downs,” she recounted. “I stopped thinking about the score. I wanted to rely more on my intuition because I knew that I could play better if I loosened up a bit. It certainly helped in the third set. I felt the need to be more courageous and make good decisions.”
